Forced Meetings
by JuneSummer
Summary: Set a few months after "Help me". House finds Cameron in Wilson's office and doesn't rest until he finds out why. Story starts a bit angsty but turns lighter in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I had this idea in my head and I just had to write it down. This is going to be a multi-chapter story, but I won't be updating for a while, I want to finish my other story first "Not Alone", after that I'll come back to this.**

**This story is set a few months after "Help me", I wrote one after "Teamwork" and another after "Lockdown", so why not one after the season finale?**

**Please keep in mind two things: first English is not my native language, so sorry for any mistakes, and second, I have not watched season 7, I only know what stumble upon when I'm online.**

**Forced Meetings**

**Chapter one**

The phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, I'm on my way to the airport now."

"Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up?"

"It's ok Wilson, really. I'll just meet you at the hospital."

"Ok, I'll see you in a few hours."

"And Wilson?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Everything is going to work out, you'll see."

"I'll see you in a few of hours."

Cameron snaps her phone close and sighs closing her eyes for just a moment. Maybe if she keeps them closed for long enough when she opens them again she'll see it's all a dream, a bad dream, and everything will be back to normal. Except when she opens them again everything is the same and this is no dream.

She takes a look around her living room, on the corner her bags rest on the floor, she's not sure how long she'll stay away from home but she simply refuses to pack anything else. The windows are closed and so are the curtains leaving the room darker than it should be at this hour, a room that's gonna be empty for the next weeks, not by her choice, no, life made that choice for her.

The cab's horn interrupts her thoughts and maybe that's for the better, the more she thinks the more she gets depressed. Depression is the last thing she needs, she can't waste any energy on that. Sighing again, she seems to be doing that a lot lately, Cameron picks up her bags and makes her way to the door, after one last lingering look she finally closes the door behind her and locks it, a clear sign she won't be coming back so soon.

Wilson puts down the phone and takes a moment to recover from the phone conversation, he leans back in his chair and stares at the ceiling for a moment, trying not to think. Then he hears yelling just outside his office, House and Cuddy are fighting again. How can they possibly survive if they can't keep their work life separated from their personal life? Wilson has no idea how the board hasn't figured out they're together yet, there are certainly many doctors accusing Cuddy of giving House special treatment (even more so than before), and that wouldn't go well with the board directors for sure.

Taking a deep breath as if to give him strength Wilson resumes his work, he needs to have everything in order for when Cameron arrives, it will most definitely be some intense and emotional weeks. Thank God he has Sam who's been so supportive throughout all of this.

House just knows he's right, just because the tests don't show a tumor doesn't mean it's not there. But still Cuddy refuses to authorize the necessary surgery, something about how dangerous brain surgery can be… like he doesn't know! He may be a bastard but even he has his limits!

Luckily his team has a neurologist and a surgeon that can do the procedure without bringing in any outside doctors. And what do you know, once they open the patient's brain they find the brain tumor he knew was there all along. And House is feeling pretty smug about himself for that!

It's late and his team is gone for the day, patient's cured nothing more to do here, House even does the chart this time, it has a special taste since he's proven Cuddy wrong, again! He's not sure since when this turned into some sort of weird competition, but that's what their relationship is about, they work more against each other than with each other. Yet they're still together after months so maybe this is how it's supposed to work. After all he's not the average man, he just wishes it wasn't so tiring sometimes.

But enough of that, right now he wants to celebrate, after the battle this day was he deserves it. He could celebrate alone but he's not in the mood to be alone tonight and Cuddy is definitely not an option tonight so that just leaves Wilson. When was the last time they went out to get drinks anyway? Both have been too caught up in their relationships and he can't deny that he misses his friend, but then again this is the first time in years they're both in a relationship at the same time.

Decision made House pushes himself of the chair behind his desk and makes his way out of the office to the door next to his. Without knocking, when did he ever, House bursts into his friend's office.

"Get your stuff together Wonder Boy, we're going out to –" House stops in the middle of the sentence when he sees the scene in front of him.

There in the couch sits Wilson and Cameron, hugging. They immediately break apart at the interruption, but he saw how her face was buried in his chest and his arms were tightly around her. This is not what he expected to find.

"House, can't you knock just for once?" Wilson says getting up from the couch clearly looking distressed.

Wilson is used to him entering his office without knocking and sure he gets annoyed with it, but there's something in his voice that's different this time.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in tonight!" He watches Cameron, she's wearing casual clothes with her hair falling down her shoulders framing her tired face. House isn't sure how to react to her presence, definitely caught off guard.

"House." Cameron stands up and actually lets a small smile reach her lips.

"Never thought I'd see the day you'd be back." He looks her up and down and doesn't bother to disguise it. His brain immediately starts running possible ideas for her return.

"Neither did I." She tells him in a low voice and then turns to Wilson.

"I'll wait for you downstairs."

"I'll just get my things and I'll be down in a minute."

Cameron takes the few steps separating her from the door and therefore House, surprisingly she puts her small hand in his arm much like she did when she resigned years ago from her fellowship and looks up to his blue eyes.

"It was good seeing you House. You look … good." And she gives him another of her small smiles and he swears he can feel a small squeeze in his arm from her hand. But then the touch is gone and he's not sure if he simply imagined it.

For once House is speechless, is it good seeing her again? Honestly he's not sure, he never thought he'd see her again, and does she look good? Well of course she's a beautiful woman but her eyes lack that usual twinkle he remembers, she's a little pale and she wears a tired expression on her face. No, she doesn't look good.

Before he has any time to react at all Cameron is out the door walking down the corridor to the elevator, leaving him to simply watch her retreating frame. Finally snapping out of it he turns to Wilson who watched the entire interaction with interest.

"So what's she doing back here?" House asks as Wilson packs his things to leave for the day.

"She's visiting." Something about his tone of voice tells House he's not lying but not telling the whole truth either.

"Does Sam know about her?"

"If by that you want to insinuate if I'm cheating on Sam with Cameron, may I remind you this is Cameron we're talking about here." Wilson speeds up and in no time is shrugging his coat on.

"So why's she here?"

"Already said it, she's visiting." Wilson passes him and walks out the door leaving House behind ending therefore the conversation.

"Night House."

After watching Wilson disappear into the elevator House walks back to his office, a new puzzle has presented itself to him, why is Cameron back? And isn't she supposed to hate him or something, after all she did blame him for her failed marriage or at least for poisoning Chase… Yet her posture showed otherwise, she even smiled at him, granted it was a tiny smile but one nonetheless, and if there's one thing he knows for sure is Cameron can't fake her smiles.

He glances at his watch, there's not gonna be any celebration after all, he's alone tonight.

When Wilson steps out of the hospital glass doors he spots Cameron leaning against the wall tugging on her coat to protect her from the cold night. She sees him and they walk to his car.

"Sorry about House, I thought he had already left for the day." He apologizes even though it's not his fault.

"It's ok, it's not your fault. House will always be House… in a way that's good." Wilson looks at her with a questioning look.

"It's nice to know that despite everything some things never change. It's… comforting." She shrugs and Wilson doesn't pride for more.

The ride home is made in silence, Wilson takes the occasional glance towards her, but she simply stares outside the window seeing the lights pass by them.

As Cameron looks at the familiar streets she thinks how she got here to this point in her life. Not once she thought of coming back to Princeton let alone for this reason, she's not here willingly she's here because she has to.

"We're here." Wilson's words bring her back to reality, she was too caught up once again in her thoughts and didn't even realized they had stopped.

Taking her bag Wilson directs her to follow him, they make their way to the elevator and to the intended floor, Wilson pulls out his keys, opens the door to his home and ushers her inside.

"James?" A female voice sounds from the back of the apartment, probably from the bedroom, Cameron thinks.

"I'm home." A blond woman appears and kisses him lightly on the lips and then turns to Cameron.

"You must be Cameron." She smiles warmly.

"Cameron this is Sam." Wilson introduces.

"Nice to meet you. I don't mean to intrude, I told Wilson I could stay at a hotel –" She starts but Sam cuts her off.

"Nonsense. If you're friends with Wilson then you're welcome to stay here as long as you like." Sam seems truly sincere and Cameron appreciates it, if she's honest with herself she really doesn't want to stay alone at a hotel. She's glad she still can count on Wilson as a friend, after her departure she avoided all contact with the people she once worked with and though the circumstances involved kind of absolve her, she still feels guilty, and so she's truly thankful for Wilson's friendship.

"Thank you."

"Plus House used to live here, nothing can possibly be worse than that." Sam jokes trying to lighten up the heavy mood.

"Come on Cameron, I'll show you your room." Wilson and Cameron make their way down the hall and step inside the bedroom, Cameron suddenly turns to Wilson and he knows exactly what's on her mind.

"I know, I know, its House's bedroom… or it used to be. Sam made the bed with clean sheets and there are fresh towels in the bathroom. And as you can see the room is practically empty, he took most of his stuff when he moved back to his old place." He's right, there's just some cd's and books on the shelves, nothing more.

"It's fine Wilson, thank you." Cameron steps inside and sits by the end of the bed suddenly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Are you hungry? I'm sure there're some leftovers in the fridge." He offers in that gentle way only he possesses, either from his own nature or from dealing with his patients, she's not sure which.

"I ate on the plane." Liar.

"Plus I'm a little tired, I think I'll just go to sleep." Even if she was hungry she couldn't possible eat anything without feeling nauseated.

"Ok, well if you need anything just ask." Wilson doesn't believe her though he doesn't say it out loud. He understands her need to have a moment to herself after the trip.

"Good night Wilson." She really just wants a moment alone.

"Night Cameron."

Wilson turns around and heads to the living room with his head down, he finds Sam sitting on the couch with the TV on, he sits beside her one arm around her, she immediately leans into him resting her head on his chest.

"You hungry?" Sam asks quietly as if speaking any louder would somehow make things worse.

"Not really."

"I realize I don't know her but she doesn't look ok."

"She is not." Wilson sighs feeling defeated even though he has no reason for it. At least not yet.

"She's very lucky to have you as a friend." Sam places a soft kiss on his shirt covered chest.

"Thank you for doing this, House left only a few months ago and we're finally on our own, I know it can't be easy to have a stranger come in and stay with us."

"Don't be silly, Cameron can stay for as long as she likes. You're a good man James Wilson." She looks into his eyes and kisses him tenderly, hoping the gesture will show what words can't in a moment like this.

"You think she's going to be ok?" She asks.

"Yes, but it won't be easy." It never is.

They stay like that for a while in each other's arms simply relishing in the warmth provided by their bodies, Wilson can't believe how lucky he is to have a second chance with Sam. He promises himself to try his best not to screw this up.

**If you like this, please let me know.**

**Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

Previously

"_You think she's going to be ok?" She asks._

"_Yes, but it won't be easy." It never is._

_They stay like that for a while in each other's arms simply relishing in the warmth provided by their bodies, Wilson can't believe how lucky he is to have a second chance with Sam. He promises himself to try his best not to screw this up._

**Chapter Two**

Cameron takes a deep breath, she's finally alone in what's to be her room for the time being.

Slowly she starts to unpack, she pulls out something to sleep in but she's so tired she doesn't even bother to take the rest of her clothes out. As if she's functioning on autopilot Cameron changes into her pajamas, and places her discarded clothes on a chair when she notices some books on the shelf. For the first time since she stepped in she really takes in her surroundings, the entire room reads House. How ironic that she's standing in his bedroom, or what was previously his bedroom, and all she wants is to be as far away as she can. She scans the books, mostly are about medicine, some are pretty old, next there are a few music CDs simply lying around. He must have billions of them to leave these behind, she knows how much he treasures his books and his music.

Sighing Cameron goes to bed, she's got a big day tomorrow and she needs to rest, but as she lies in bed she can't shut off her mind. The past year has been an emotional rollercoaster and she's so tired… so tired. Despite everything she hasn't shed a tear since she found out which she finds extremely weird and unlike her. She turns around in bed and prepares herself for another sleepless night, she's getting used to them by now and as the realization of what tomorrow means she finally allows herself to cry, silent tears run down her face. She doesn't bother cleaning them up and cries herself to sleep.

When morning comes Cameron takes a quick shower, puts on the clothes she'll only wear for a few hours and prepares a small bag with some essentials. She steps out of the room and hears sounds coming from the kitchen.

"Morning." Wilson and Sam are having breakfast, it's such a domestic thing and she can't help but to feel a little envy, she used to have that and she misses it deeply, that feeling that you're not alone and that there's someone beside you that loves you.

"Hey Cameron, sleep alright?" Wilson's voice shows concern even though she's sure he tries to remain as normal as possible.

"It wasn't bad." Which is to say she only slept for a few hours.

"I would offer you some breakfast but…" Wilson knows she can't eat anything because of all the blood work she'll be doing as well as other additional tests.

"I'm not really hungry anyway." She shrugs.

"Well if you're ready we can go to the hospital now." Wilson stands up and puts his jacket on and Cameron picks up her small bag.

"I'm ready." It's not like she has any choice, it needs to be done.

"I'll see you later." Wilson says to Sam as he gives her a quick kiss on the cheek.

The ride to the hospital is made in a heavy silence, Wilson wants to give Cameron some reassuring words but she's a doctor, she knows what's at stake. As they walk inside the big building Cameron feels like she hasn't been here in a long time and not just some months, maybe it has do with the fact of the circumstances she's here now, Cameron is no longer a doctor, she's on the other side of the line, she's a patient.

The halls are mostly empty, of course a hospital never sleeps but it's still early morning and everything is quiet, she hates it, it makes her over reactive mind think of things she shouldn't. As they reach the intended room Wilson opens the door for her, she takes a deep breath and steps in placing the bag by the end of the bed with her back to Wilson. Her hands grip the bag till the point her knuckles turn white, not a word leaves her mouth.

"Cameron?" Wilson places his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm ok Wilson." No she's not, not even close.

"Maybe I could stay for a –" Cameron interrupts him.

"Wilson, you have patients and rounds to do, I'm _fine_." She says strongly to convince him, and herself too.

"Ok, but I'll be here after my rounds to do your tests."

"I'll be here." Where else would she be?

After Wilson leaves Cameron looks at her room for the next days, hopefully there will only be a few days and not more. She sighs. On top of the bed rest a hospital gown, never she hated hospitals so much. She grabs the offended piece of fabric and enters the small bathroom to change.

Cameron sheds her clothes like she sheds layers of herself in the process until she stands in front of the small mirror in only her white bra and panties. She looks at her reflection, the mirror only reflects her image from the middle stomach up, she looks at her blond hair falling down her shoulders, her face though tired obviously doesn't begin to show what's going on under the surface inside of her. Staring at her image she simply looks like she had a bad night and not that she's sick.

Slowly she reaches for the back of her bra and unclasps it letting it fall down her arms, she looks at her chest and it's too much, she turns her head, she can't bear to look. Painfully she puts on the gown, luckily its one of those that doesn't tie in the back so she's not exposed more than she already has to be, probably Wilson's doing. Turning around once more to the mirror, the white and blue gown gets all her attention, reality sinks in really hard, tears fall down her pale face, it's like she's been living her life for the last days in a state of numbness and now her mind is finally catching up with what's going on.

Cameron leans her back against the door and slides down to the floor crying alone.

**A small chapter, but it's better than nothing… I've been super busy but I did not forget about this story.**

**If you liked this please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I forgot to put this on the previous chapters so here it is: I don't own House Md or any of its characters**

**Again please be aware that I haven't watched a single episode of season 7, so my main base for this story is season 6.**

Chapter 3

As soon has House steps inside the hospital he turns to Cuddy's office, one night alone should be enough to appease things between them, he glances through the glass walls and sees her in her environment sitting behind her desk drowning in paper work, just the way she likes it. He pushes the glass door open and plops himself on the chair.

"Morning."

"You were supposed to be here two hours ago." Her voice sounds tired and not demanding at all.

"I see you're still bitchy about yesterday."

"For once I just wish you'd do what I tell you to do."

"But that would be so boring!" He states in horror, and she thinks it's probably true, it would be boring, but it would certainly make things easier, sometimes she just doesn't have the energy to deal with him.

"Did you know Cameron was back?" He asks and that gets her attention, she stops what she's doing to look him in the eyes for the first time that morning.

"Yes, Wilson mentioned something." She sounds a bit indifferent to him.

"So why is she here?" Always the curious man. Plus the fact that she averts eye contact as much as possible tells him that there's something more. Whether its Cameron related or not he isn't sure.

"As far as I know she's here visiting." Again House notes how indifferent she sounds and he finds it intriguing. Maybe she knows more than she's telling but over the years she has gotten better at playing him and so he's not completely sure.

"So you're not planning on hiring her again?"

"No, I'm not. And even if I was I don't think she would want to come back to work here."

House realizes he's not gonna get anymore out of her, even though by now he's sure she knows more than what she's telling.

"Right. Well gotta go, lives to save and all that." He's about to leave when Cuddy's voice stops him.

"So…, I'll see you tonight?" Her voice shows a bit of hope mixed with insecurity.

"Sure." And he's gone.

Stepping out of the elevator House walks to his department, maybe he can pull something out of one of his ducklings.

"Good morning angels!" He greets walking straight to the coffee. Forman is reading some medical journal while Chase reads the newspaper.

"Cuddy was looking for you." Forman tells him not bothering to great him.

"I just saw her, one night alone and she's all clingy, jeez!" He jokes.

"Wait a minute, I see my dark angel, my blond aussie angel, but where's my midget angel?" House asks while taking a sip of his coffee.

"Morning, sorry I'm late." Taub says as he enters the conference room looking all flushed.

"What's the matter? Have a fight with the wife?" He asks as he takes another sip of the crappy coffee.

"No, I just forgot to set my alarm."

"Sure, I'll pretend I believe that. Probably cheated on the wife again." He says that last part in a mocking whisper to the other two doctors.

"Speaking of wife, heard anything about yours Chase?" Time to see if the wombat knows something. No way he's resting until he solves this puzzle.

"No, and it's ex wife." Chase hates when House brings up Cameron and House takes advantage of it.

"Wife, ex wife that's just semantics… so any idea what she's been doing?"

"Last time I heard she was still in Chicago, why are you asking about her?"

"Would I pass an opportunity to annoy you? I don't think so."

"Right." Chase scoffs returning to his paper.

"Well guys I gotta go, all this testosterone is giving me a headache, never thought I'd actually miss Thirteen and her annoying ways." House leaves the room through the balcony door, he crosses the balcony divider and steps inside Wilson's office plopping himself on the couch.

"My team is annoying, Cuddy is annoying, this whole hospital is annoying!"

"Good morning to you too." Wilson says through the amount of patient files on his desk.

"You know what would make me feel better?" Wilson knows where this is going, his friend can be so predictable sometimes.

"What's that?" Wilson asks anyway.

"To know the real reason why Cameron is here." House gives Wilson his best puppy dog eyes for effect.

"Already told you, she's visiting. Let it go House, there's no mystery here."

"The fact that you're saying that means there is something else that you're not telling me. If you're not cheating on Sam with her, and she's not looking for a job, and Chase has no idea she's even here in Princeton…"

"Do I even need to be here for this?"

"So she's clearly not getting back together with the wombat, I'm missing something but no worries I'll figure it out with your help or not." Oh Wilson has no doubts about that.

"You sure have been spending a lot of time thinking about Cameron, why is that?"

"Because I'm a curious person that's it. So you're really not gonna tell me what's going on?"

"I can't tell you." Oh but he wants to, Wilson feels the need to share this burden with someone else, of course he has Sam but she doesn't really know Cameron and despite House's attempts to deny it Wilson knows he cares. Plus they're friends, aren't friends suppose to be there for each other?

"Fine!" House stands up and heads for the door, he's about to leave when Wilson speaks.

"You know for someone with the mind of a genius you sure can be dense." House leaves pondering Wilson's last words.

OoOoOo

By late afternoon House is sitting in his office in the dark with the exception of the light on his desk listening to some jazz, rolling his red grey ball on his thigh thinking. He always enjoys a good puzzle and Cameron has provided more than a few for him to solve over the years, but why can't he let go this time, he hasn't seen her in almost a year and yet there's something about her that he can't quite explain that draws him to her.

Her posture yesterday night was so strange, and she smiled at him, a sad smile but still, actually she did seem sad not just her smile. He hears Wilson's words in his mind again and again and suddenly everything comes crashing down, the pieces start fitting together and everything falls into place.

In an abrupt movement he shoots up from his chair and makes his way to the office next door faster than any cripple should be able to move, he doesn't even think about his leg completely moving on anger. House roughly pushes the door open and strides inside.

"How bad is it?" He's standing in the middle of the office looking very menacing, Wilson knows he figured it out.

"House, you know I can't tell you that."

"Cut the crap Wilson, how bad is it?" He almost yells.

"I can't, doctor patient confidentiality-"

"Fine! Then tell me what room she's in?" How can Wilson hide something like this from him! From everybody?

"She's very vulnerable, you can't just-" House cuts him off again.

"Room number!" He demands taping his cane forcefully on the floor.

"Room 207." Wilson relents sighing, and before he knows it House is out of the room.

Wilson just hopes he made the right decision, besides it's not like he could hide it for much longer. Nor would he want to.

House walks furiously down the hall searching for the intended room, he's so angry at Wilson and he can't even explain why properly. Cameron's been gone for almost a year but the prospect of having her back here for this reason has a big impact on him, after all its Cameron, no one could stay indifferent, not even him with all the walls he puts up preventing him from having emotions.

Finally reaching her room he stops in his tracks completely paralyzed by the sight of her, the blinds are only half way down and he can see her clearly. Cameron's lying in bed, her back against the headboard, glasses on, reading a book, her beautiful blond hair cascades down her shoulders, she doesn't look like she's in a hospital room, she looks like she's at home in her own bed getting ready to sleep.

Except she's not.

Taking a deep breath he slowly enters her room and Cameron lifts her head to see who it is.

"Took you long enough, I was expecting your visit earlier. You must be losing your skills." Cameron tries to joke. She closes her book and takes off her glasses to look him in the eyes.

"How bad?" He repeats the question he made minutes ago to Wilson but in a much softer voice, as soft as he can manage anyway.

"Oh relax House, I'm not dying or anything." She's trying to keep things light, if things turn too serious she'll end up crying and she refuses to cry again, she is _not_ a weak person.

"How bad?" He asks again clearly not amused by her tone of voice. She sighs and breaks eye contact for a second.

"What did Wilson tell you?"

"Not much, something about doctor patient confidentiality or some crap like that."

"Wilson is tougher than he looks." She lets out a small smile but he's not distracted by it.

"You haven't answered the question."

"Breast cancer." House already knows it's cancer but hearing the words leaving her mouth is too much. He slumps on the chair behind him suddenly losing confidence in his legs to keep him up straight.

"It's early stage, Wilson thinks he can get it all out in surgery so I won't have to do chemo, but he'll only be sure after the surgery." She puts a strong voice, whether for herself or for House she's not sure.

"When is it?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." He takes in all this new information. This is harder then he thought.

"Were you ever planning on letting the rest of us know?" And by that he means him.

"Not really, no." And even though that's the truth she was always certain House would find out eventually, it's just who he is.

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks, here she is with cancer about to have surgery and she wasn't planning on telling anyone? Does she hate him that much? And Wilson simply agreed to this? If he was angry before now he's pissed, at her, Wilson or the entire world he's not sure but he's pissed big time.

He almost jumps off the chair and leans heavily on his cane.

"Good luck in surgery." It's all he can say to her without truly showing how he really feels, because right now in spite of what he wants to do which is yell at her he knows she doesn't deserve it. She already has enough to deal with.

House strides out of the room and Cameron stares at the door, his tone of voice didn't passed unnoted to her, she knows that by not telling him she has hurt him. Cameron sighs and closes her eyes, she should just go to sleep and rest, tomorrow is a big day.

OoOoOo

When House pulls up at Cuddy's entrance it's already late, he went for a ride on the bike to clear his head and digest the news before coming here. He takes the spare key from behind the vase and quietly opens the door, he makes his way inside towards the bedroom and finds her sleeping form, he sheds his jeans and jacket and slips next to her, carefully as not to wake her up. Cuddy stirs when she feels the bed dip and rolls to face him.

"Thought you'd changed your mind." Her voice is sleepy.

The truth is House just doesn't want to be alone tonight, he has all this conflicted emotions about today's revelations, in the old days he would just numb himself with either pills or alcohol, probably both, but now he feels the need to connect with another human being and Cuddy's suppose to help him with that.

"Cameron has cancer." He's laying on his back staring at the ceiling, he's not stupid, he knows Cuddy is aware of Cameron's condition, nothing happens in that hospital without Cuddy finding out.

"I know." She says quietly. When Wilson told her he was admitting Cameron she couldn't help but feel for the younger doctor, even though they were never really close friends.

"She's not telling anyone." He says and Cuddy frowns, she figured that once House solved the puzzle of her return it would be over, his interest would fade away like with everything else.

"She left House, the only reason she's here instead of the hospital she now works at is because of Wilson, not for you, Chase or anyone else." House doesn't like her voice but figures she's probably right. However at the same time Cameron cares for every single patient she ever had, she cares about lost kitties and puppies, she would care about the people she worked with for six years. She just can't be that detached, she can't have changed that much, it's simply not in her nature.

"She worked here for six years, how could she keep this a secret?" He says mostly to himself and Cuddy frowns again.

"Why do you care?"

"She has cancer! You honestly think I wouldn't be bothered if a person I've known for years has cancer? Glad you think so highly of me." He came here for some comfort, not this.

Isn't that what a relationship is all about? He knows it's been a long time since he has been in one, but this is not how it's supposed to be, and for once he's trying. He turns and lies on his side, his back to her.

"House, I didn't mean it like that." She places one hand on his arm reaching out to him.

"It's been a long day, let's just sleep."

Cuddy sighs, House pushed her away and had every reason for it. He was opening up to her and she ruined it.

**If you like this please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! I know it's been ages since I've updated, and I really thought I wouldn't anymore… and then there was light and I can't belive I actually managed to write this chapter.**

**Anyway, it's been a long time since I watched any House episode, so I hope everyone is in character…**

**Previously…**

"She left House, the only reason she's here instead of the hospital she now works at is because of Wilson, not for you, Chase or anyone else." House doesn't like her voice but figures she's probably right. However at the same time Cameron cares for every single patient she ever had, she cares about lost kitties and puppies, she would care about the people she worked with for six years. She just can't be that detached, she can't have changed that much, it's simply not in her nature.

"She worked here for six years, how could she keep this a secret?" He says mostly to himself and Cuddy frowns again.

"Why do you care?"

"She has cancer! You honestly think I wouldn't be bothered if a person I've known for years has cancer? Glad you think so highly of me." He came here for some comfort, not this.

Isn't that what a relationship is all about? He knows it's been a long time since he has been in one, but this is not how it's supposed to be, and for once he's trying. He turns and lies on his side, his back to her.

"House, I didn't mean it like that." She places one hand on his arm reaching out to him.

"It's been a long day, let's just sleep."

Cuddy sighs, House pushed her away and had every reason for it. He was opening up to her and she ruined it.

Chapter 4

Wilson is mentally preparing himself for the day ahead, Cameron's surgery is consuming him. Dealing with cancer is what he does on a daily basis, he's been doing it for years, many patients come to him to hear the words no one wants to hear "You have cancer" or worse "It's terminal". But somehow he got used to it, he learned over the years how to not let it affect him, how to not bring his work home, and he did it without caring any less for his patients, which is why, he supposes, he's so good at his job. House even mocks him when his patients thank him for telling them they're dying.

However everything is different when the patient he's treating, when the person with cancer is someone he knows. Someone he's friends with.

Wilson has been an oncologist for years, he knows his facts, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women, and if caught in time the chances of a full recovery are extremely high. As a doctor he's very optimistic about Cameron's prognosis, it's a small tumor in early development and if he can get it all out she won't even need chemo, maybe a few sessions of radiation treatment, and if she does need chemo, chances are after a few sessions all trace of the cancer will be completely gone.

Yes, as a doctor he knows Cameron has a good chance of getting cancer free, but as a friend he can't help but be anxious and nervous.

This is not some random person he never met in his life, someone he'll never see again, the fact that he knows her, that he used to see her everyday changes everything. All this is taking a bigger toll on him than he previously expected.

For a moment he considered passing the case to someone else, someone less involved who could view it with more objectivity. But he didn't. He couldn't. Because when it really came to it, Wilson trusted no one else to take care of her, not because he thinks he is superior to other doctors, but simply because he can't not be in that operating room, he can't not be in control of the situation. It's a behavior he considers typical of House, the need to be in control though he manages to hide it behind sarcastic comments and witty one liners. Years in company with the man must have had an influenced on him, though he doesn't dwell on it.

He remembers when he got the call, she had had a mammogram and needed a biopsy. Cameron wanted him to do it. So he cleared his schedule, made up some crappy excuse to Cuddy and flew to Chicago. And then the results came. Cancer. In all the years he's been a doctor not once did he had such a hard time to give a person those news.

And now a week later he's about to operate on her, he feels like the weight of the world is on his shoulders.

And then someone barges into his office interrupting his musings and slumping down on the couch. House.

XXX

"How did your conversation with Cameron last night go?"

"Like you don't already know." Knowing Wilson like he does he's sure he already went to see her this morning.

"She said you left rather abruptly, that you almost looked angry."

"The cancer must be affecting her brain already, why would I be angry?" His words are calm though his posture says otherwise.

"Well, you do look kind of angry right now." At this House huffs, why does Wilson have to be so damn good at reading him.

"I'm just trying to figure out how caring Cameron can hate us so much, never thought she had it in her."

"What?" Wilson is genuinely surprised.

"She's deliberately not telling anyone, she really must hate this hospital. And who can blame her, right?" He fidgets with his cane.

"House, Cameron is about to go into surgery, this is probably the most important moment of her life and not for good reasons, and now that you do know you should show her your support and not think about crazy theories. Give your mind a break."

"Right. Thanks for the pep talk, always so insightful. But I gotta go now, all that porn isn't gonna download by itself." He pushes himself up, grabs his cane and he's almost at the door when Wilson calls him.

"And House?"

"What?" He turns around.

"She doesn't hate you."

House exits Wilson's office and heads for his own, he glances through the conference room glass walls and sees his all male team drinking coffee and doing nothing. Great. No new patient means no distraction for his mind. He turns around and starts walking in the opposite direction heading to the oncology ward, why he's not sure, or he is but prefers not to think too much of it.

Once he gets to her room there's a nurse inside, probably about to start prepping her for surgery. He walks inside and shoots the nurse a glare to make her leave, but she seems unfazed by it. Figures, Wilson must have warned them about him. The oncology nurses are very loyal to Wilson, which is probably why no one leaked that Cameron is here, this is exactly the type of gossip that would spread to the hospital faster than fire.

"Would you mind giving us a moment?" Cameron asks the nurse and House realizes how pathetic he must look leaning on his cane in the middle of her room in complete silence.

"Hey." She starts.

"I guess today is the day." He tries to remain nonchalant but the fact that he's here says otherwise.

"Yeah." An awkward silence settles in.

"Why did you leave like that yesterday?" She asks and he's surprised by her boldness.

"Figured you wanted to rest." He sits on the same chair he occupied yesterday beside the bed. Better than to stand, bad leg and all.

"That's not it. You don't care that much." She smirks knowingly.

"Was a little surprised by your new found hatred, had to go home and regroup." He uses a mocking tone hoping she'll let it go.

"What?"

"It's ok, even I hate myself sometimes." Now he sounds even more pathetic. He focuses his eyes on anything except her. She simply finds it sad.

"House." The way she says his name so softly makes him stare right into her eyes, even if that's not what he wants. He hears her sighing deeply.

"House, I have cancer. My only goal here is to get through this." She pauses and he stares at her expectantly, she's not done.

"I don't hate you, even if sometimes you deserve it, which let's face it are a lot of times. But I can't." Now he's confused.

"It takes a lot of energy to hate someone and right now I don't have any left. I need all my strength in the same place, I can't waste any of it. I can't." He feels so stupid, here she is reassuring him that she doesn't hate him when it should be the other way around, he should be the one reassuring her that everything is going to be alright, she's the one with cancer and he's making it all about him. He is an idiot.

The nurse chooses that instant to return and the moment is broken.

"You'll be fine. As you said, you caught it early, there's every chance of a full recovery. Plus you got Wilson, no way he's gonna let this bastard cancer win!" He reassures her and himself as well.

He gets up and limps to the door so the nurse can start her work.

"House…, even before this… before the cancer, I didn't hated you back then either. Never did." House is not even bothered that she just said that in front of the nurse who obviously observes him to gauge his reaction. Right now he's just glad for her words.

"Good to know." He nods and finally leaves her room.

XXX

He rests in his yellow comfortable chair in his office hearing some music and with the blinds closed. His team is gone, either to the clinic or to help out in other departments. He knows by this hour she's probably finished her surgery, maybe she's even back to her room.

He could've watched the surgery from the gallery but for some reason it didn't feel right, standing there looking down at her exposed body lying on the table. She wouldn't want him there and for once he's respecting the wishes of another person, no matter how much he wanted to be there and find out right away if the surgery was successful or not.

Then Wilson pokes his head in and spots him on the chair.

"She's out of surgery. I was able to remove the whole tumor out. She'll be fine." And with that he leaves. House figures this has been a draining process for Wilson and that his friend needs some time alone as well. Cameron is just the type of person that brings out the protective side of people out into the open, not that Wilson hides it. That's actually something he would do.

At the news of Cameron's surgery relief washes through his body, he suddenly feels more relaxed and an actual smile finds its way to his lips, it's not like there's anyone else around to see it. She's going to be fine.

XXX

Cameron feels groggy, she's trying to open her eyes but her eyelids are heavy and she can't open them. There's also a pressure on her chest and it's hard to breathe, it's then she remembers she just had surgery, her eyes are heavy from the anesthesia and the pressure in her chest makes sense since she just had surgery in that area.

After some struggle she finally opens her eyes, she blinks a few times adjusting to the light, slightly she turns her head and sees Wilson sitting in a chair next to her bed writing something, maybe charts.

"Wilson." Her voice is husky from the surgery but she slowly feels the effect of the anesthesia wearing off.

"Hey there." He's immediately at her side. He helps he sit up a little and hands her a glass of water.

"Thank you." Cameron gives him back the glass and looks at Wilson expectantly.

"Well, how did it go?" Wilson sits at the edge of the bed and takes her hand in his. He smiles.

"It went great. I got it all out. Of course we still need to monitor you and you'll need a couple of radiation therapy but no chemo, and yeah, as of today you are cancer free." He has a full wide grin by time he finishes.

Cameron feels the tears in the back of her eyes.

"Really?" She has to hear it again.

"Yeah." Cameron launches herself into Wilson's arms not caring about the pain in her chest or the wires attached to her body.

As they hug she no longer cares, she lets the tears fall freely down her face, in fact she welcomes them because these aren't tears of pain and suffering, no, these are tears of joy and relief.

From outside the room through the glass walls House watches the scene unfold in front of him, emotions are running high in that room. He turns around and limps in the opposite direction.

**If you liked this please review and let me know if there's anyone still reading it.**


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